


My Little Ball of Fluff

by mc_writer



Series: My Little Ball of Fluff [1]
Category: One Direction
Genre: Boys Kissing, Cats, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8032981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mc_writer/pseuds/mc_writer
Summary: Summaries are hard. I'm not sure who it was now, but someone asked for a Larry cat owner AU. Harry and Louis are neighbours and fellow cat owners. Harry discovers that his cat is in the family way and Louis' cat is the likely father. Louis thinks this is wonderful. Harry disagrees, so Louis sets out to convince him.





	1. Chapter 1

Harry

Harry was worried.

Zoe was a cat of specific likes and dislikes, a creature of habit, very much like Harry himself. They had a schedule. They had a pattern. Some people called it boring. Harry Styles begged to differ. It was comfortable. It was soothing. Life was hard enough, wasn't it? Keeping things simple just made good sense.

Like, in baking for example. When Harry was at work at the bakery, sure, there were sometimes surprises. But a recipe was a recipe, and if you followed it to the letter, you could be pretty sure that you'd come up with something that at least approximated what the recipe was for.

Unless you were shit at baking.

Which Harry most certainly was not.

Surprises were ok, Harry supposed. But there was a time and a place for them, wasn't there? Given time, he could probably come up with a situation where a surprise would be appropriate. And maybe nice. But, at the moment, all he could think about was finding Zoe.

He shook Zoe's bowl of cat food in the hopes that the sound would lure her away from her current hiding place. Sure enough, he heard a loud meow at the window, where Zoe was pawing at the glass.

"Zoe! How did you get outside!" Harry exclaimed, as he opened the window a crack, to let her in. "Where have you been, you naughty thing." Harry shut and latched the window and nuzzled the cat in his arms. He put her down next to her food dish and watched her eat. A flash of movement caught his eye and he glanced at the window again. A large ginger tabby was pacing back and forth on the windowsill, occasionally batting at the window with a large paw.

"Shoo," Harry said, flicking his wrist at the cat.

The tabby looked insolently at him and proceeded to make himself comfortable on the windowsill, grooming himself.

Harry grimaced. "Don't eat the flowers." He looked down at Zoe, who was rubbing herself against his legs, and noticed that the bowl was empty. "Well. Someone was hungry. That's what you get for disappearing like that." He shook some more cat food into the bowl and made sure Zoe's water bowl was full. He checked the time.

"You've made me late, Zoe," he said, his voice mock-stern.

She blinked her amber eyes at him, then padded to the window and hopped up. She pressed her face to the window, where the large tomcat was sunning himself.

"No. You're grounded," Harry said, mentally reminding himself to make sure Zoe couldn't get out.

Zoe turned a disdainful eye on him and stretched out on the windowsill and turned her attention back to the cat at the window.

"Cats. Horrible, ungrateful things, don't know why I bother," he muttered to himself, a wry smile on his lips.

He gathered up his things, turned off the lights, and let himself out, closing the door behind him. Harry didn't really know his neighbors; he mostly kept himself to himself. He was basically a crazy, cat lad. He knew that must be what people thought. But, he was fine with it. He liked his life the way it was. Quiet. Uneventful.

_ Safe. _

Harry didn't think people gave safe enough credit.

After checking his door, one last time, he ran a hand through his hair and turned to make his way to the exit. When he lifted his eyes, he saw the young man in the flat opposite his, standing in his doorway looking perplexed. His hair was disheveled and he was wearing a shirt with a rainbow Apple logo on it and a pair of dark gray, speckled joggers, his hands resting lightly on his hips. Harry quickly lowered his eyes, stuffed his keys into his pocket and made to leave, but his neighbor waved at him.

"Hey, mate! Don't suppose you've seen Ti...me cat? He's a stripey, ginger thing...thinks he's more handsome than he is?"

Harry looked up at him, surprised at being addressed.

"Erm. I think he's sitting outside my window at the moment," Harry said, tilting his head towards the door.

"Cheers! Is that where he is? Well, I'll just pop out with you then. Get him off your window for you. Rude thing, he is." The young man was now standing in front of Harry, his hand stretched out in front of him. "Nice to finally meet you, neighbour. I'm Louis Tomlinson."

"Harry Styles," Harry said, shifting his bag out of the way to shake Louis's hand.

They stepped out of the building and turned left, towards Harry's window. Sure enough, there was the ginger cat, blinking sleepily at them as they approached.

"Tiger, you menace. Come here," Louis scolded, as he picked his cat off the window. The cat purred and snuggled close to Louis' neck, his paws curling around his arm.

"Thanks, Harry. Tiger is horrible, but...well, I was out of my mind, worrying about him." Louis eyes flicked towards Harry's window. "I see you've got one of your own too. Lovely."

Harry followed the line of Louis' gaze and frowned. Zoe was pawing at the glass and meowing.

"I don't know what's gotten into her," Harry said, shaking his head. "Well, I'm glad you found your cat."

Louis nodded. "Maybe Tiger and I will see you and..." his voice trailed off.

"Zoe."

Louis grinned. "Zoe. Maybe Tiger and I will see you and Zoe around?"

Harry made a non-committal sound. "We don't get out much."

Louis shrugged. "Maybe that will change."

"Maybe. Well, I really do need to get going," Harry said, backing up. He waved, turned on his heel and walked away.

"Have a good day then!" He heard Louis call out, but he didn't bother to respond.

It was just the kind of morning Harry hated: missing cats and meeting neighbors and being late for work.

 

Louis

Louis was pleased.

The morning hadn't started out so well: he hadn't woken up to his alarm and his cat had gone missing.

But, as so many of the children's books said, all's well that ends well. Not only had Louis found his cat, he had also managed to meet his elusive, but incredibly fit, neighbor.

Who also had a cat.

It was a sign.

They might as well get married tomorrow.

Louis smiled to himself as he entered his flat. Tiger jumped out of his arms and trotted off towards the bedroom.

"Don't even think about getting on the bed," Louis called after him, even if it was a hopeless cause. He had bought a perfectly good cat bed for Tiger, but it lay in the corner, unused. He paused for a moment and then grinned. "Oh never mind. Have at it. You deserve it. You were an ace matchmaker today, boy."

He entered the kitchen and frowned at the cup of tea he had been brewing when he realized Tiger was missing. It had now gone cold, and Louis debated whether or not he should boil another kettle. Thankfully, he was spared from making that decision by a knock on his door.

"Come in! It's open!"

The door opened and a young man in dark glasses came in shaking his head.

"I could've been a serial killer, Louis. You aren't supposed to just leave your door unlocked like that," he said.

"Since when do serial killers bother knocking on the door, Zayn?" Louis said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You never know," Zayn said, making himself comfortable on the sofa. He took of his glasses and made crazy eyes at Louis. He suddenly noticed Louis' outfit. "You aren't even dressed mate! What were you doing all this time?"

Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson managed an independent bookshop, not one of the giant franchises, just a small shop, with a very carefully curated selection of books and a long list of devoted customers.

Louis jogged into his bedroom, yelling out explanations over his shoulder.

"Couldn't find Tiger. He got out somehow. Wouldn't come when I called either." Louis shooed Tiger off the bed and the cat ran into the living room and launched himself onto Zayn's lap.

"Don't know why you keep a cat. Why not a dog? They seem so much nicer. I should get a dog," Zayn said, as he scratched Tiger's chin. The cat purred happily and began kneading his paws into Zayn's stomach.

"Don't talk about dogs in front of Tiger, it's rude," Louis called from the bathroom.

By the time, Louis reappeared he was dressed in skinny black jeans that ended just above his ankles and braces over a white shirt and white sneakers. He fussed with his fringe a moment before holding his arms out and turning in a slow circle to show Zayn the entire ensemble.

Zayn pursed his lips. "Not bad. What do you think, Tiger?"

Tiger blinked lazily at Louis and opened his mouth in a jaw-breaking yawn.

"He's not impressed," Zayn chuckled. "Don't know why you're making such an effort. We're only going to work."

Louis raised an eyebrow at him. "Is it wrong to take pride in my appearance? Books don't sell themselves, Zayn. Customers rely on our expertise, our salesmanship. People respond to our recommendations, to..."

"Your bum in a pair of tight jeans?" Zayn said, arching an eyebrow at him.

Louis grinned, shameless. "I figured it couldn't hurt. Also, I'm in a good mood today, Zayn. Sue me. Now, get up."

As they made their way to work, Louis filled Zayn in on the morning.

"Finally, though," Zayn said, rolling his eyes. "You've been harping about the fact that you haven't met your neighbor since he moved in and didn't acknowledge your welcome to the neighborhood note."

Louis pursed his lips. He was still a little bit miffed about that, to be perfectly honest.

"Yeah. Well. I think he's just a bit shy. That's all," Louis said.

"Better not scare him away then," Zayn said, wisely.

By this time, they had reached the bookshop and Zayn had drifted away, preoccupied with all the busy-work that was involved in running the store, leaving Louis alone with his thoughts.

_ Better not scare him away. _

Zayn was right. Louis did have a tendency to come on too strong. He thought about it, as he prepared for the day ahead; he couldn't help it. He just...felt things. A lot. That wasn't a bad thing, was it? And feeling things made him want to  _ do _ things. And yes, maybe he had thrown caution to the wind far too often in his previous relationships, but he couldn't be faulted for that, could he?

Louis wasn't stupid. He knew it wasn't always castles in the sky and candy hearts. He knew love wasn't always soft and rosy and that sometimes it hurt to want to give yourself so much to someone who didn't want what you had to give. Yes, Louis knew what it was like to leave long, rambling, embarrassing messages on ex-boyfriend's answering machines begging for another chance. But, Louis didn't regret any of those things.

Well, maybe he regretted some of those messages.

And sure, when things went wrong, Zayn had had to pick up all the pieces of Louis' broken heart and self-esteem. But, somehow, between the two of them, they had always managed to put Louis back together.

Louis looked on the bright side. He believed every relationship he'd had was meant to be and he'd thrown himself into each and every one of them: arms wide open, heart on his sleeve, with no regard for personal dignity. He was a risk taker. If you wanted a big, beautiful, soul expanding love, you needed to take the big risks. That's what Louis thought anyway. Broken hearts be damned.

Still. Zayn spoke the truth. And even Louis had to admit, his friend made sense. Louis hadn't been in a serious relationship in a while. It went against all his instincts, but maybe it would be interesting to do things Zayn's way.

Slow.

But not  _ too _ slow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Zayn! He works with Louis. Oh, and Niall is mentioned too. :)

Harry

Harry was confused.

"You shouldn't be starving. Why are you starving?"

The pretty calico Persian blinked up at home then gave an insistent meow.

Harry shook his head and put a little more cat food in Zoe's bowl. His eyes widened as she attacked the bowl. It had been full when he left the house and Zoe wasn't normally a big eater. He crouched down and smoothed his hand over her soft coat.

"We are almost out of cat food and it's not yet time to go to the shops. You, my little ball of fluff, are eating us out of house and home, Zoe."

He stood up and stretched his arms overhead. It had been a long day, but it looked like it was about to get just a little bit longer. Harry sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was go to the shops. But, he hated not having supplies on hand. And what if there was an emergency?

What possible emergency could there be that involved not having enough cat food, he didn't know. But Harry didn't like being unprepared. He could pop over to his next door neighbor's...Louis. People did that, didn't they, to borrow a cup of sugar, or salt.

"And what would exactly would you say, Harry? You'd just knock on the door and say 'Hi. Zoe appears to be on a binge at the moment, would you have any cat food to spare?'" Harry muttered to himself, shaking his head.  _ Ridiculous. _ Besides, what if Tiger didn't have the same cat food preference as Zoe?

No, it was a bad idea.

He would just go to the shops, buy the cat food and get himself some dinner while he was at it.

He shook a finger at Zoe. "This is your fault and I blame you entirely."

Harry actually loved going shopping. And though he preferred to go on scheduled trips, he still managed to enjoy even the spur-of-the-moment ones. He loved looking at what fruit and vegetables were in season. He liked looking at what specials there were and figuring out what he could make from them. He liked reading all the different scents that shampoo and conditioners came in, although he always chose the same berry scented one anyway.

He strolled slowly up and down the aisles, his eyes wandering down the shelves, not looking for anything in particular. Just looking. He put a few things in his basket that he hadn't intended to buy but that he decided were needed (just one of the dangers of unscheduled shopping) and finally turned into the row of shelves stocked with pet food.  He bit his lip as he scanned the shelves for the brand that Zoe preferred, then stepped closer to compare two variants.

"Seafood Supreme or Fancy Chicken Feast," he murmured tapping the bags with a finger. Zoe liked both and they had just finished the seafood flavor, so...

"Zayn! Hurry up! I just need to get a bag of cat food, stop looking at the hair products! 'Scuse me, mate," an arm reached out for the last bag of chicken flavored cat food.

Harry's head snapped up to look at who was speaking.

"Hiiii."

His neighbor. Louis. Cat-owning Louis. Who was apparently also out of cat food and thus would have been absolutely no help to him had Harry actually knocked on his door.

Louis' blue eyes widened and his face brightened into a smile, as if he were actually happy to bump into his neighbor at the grocery.

"Harry! Has Zoe eaten up all your supply? Tiger, too, isn't that odd? They seem to be on the same schedule or something."

Harry frowned. "Are you really taking the last chicken feast bag?" he said, pointing at the bag in Louis' hand.

Louis' forehead wrinkled and he looked at the bag he was holding.

"Oh, no. This is what he had last month," he replaced the bag on the shelf and pulled out the seafood one. "I like to alternate flavors and these are Tiger's favorites," he explained.

Harry nodded, a slow smile on his face as he took the chicken cat food and put it in his basket.

"Zoe, too."

"Imagine that," Louis said with a grin. "And I was right, wasn't I, about seeing you around."

"Louis, are you ready yet?" A slim, dark-haired young man walked up to them and tapped Louis on the shoulder.

Louis started, then smiled and jerked his head towards Zayn.

"This is my mate, Zayn. We work together."

"Oh, you must be Harry, Louis' friend with the cat...ow." Zayn winced when Louis not-so-subtly elbowed him in the ribs.

Harry's brow furrowed.  "Neighbors. We're neighbors. So...have a good evening," Harry turned on his heel and walked away.

"It was lovely running into you! I hope Zoe enjoys the cat food!"

He heard Louis calling after him and he paused to look back at them. He raised his hand in a wave and continued on his way, a small smile on his face, as he heard them bickering good-naturedly behind him.

Harry was aware that he looked cold and standoffish to some. He wasn't really. Well. Maybe he was. But, he'd tried the other way before and had gotten horribly burned.

He didn't think he could take that kind of rejection again.

It was better when it was just him and Zoe and the few people he felt safe enough with to let into his life.

He looked down at his basket and realized that despite having spent the entire day baking, he found himself to be very much in the mood to make something delicious and sticky and sweet.

He would have to call Niall. Desserts were meant to be shared.

And if he was going to call Niall, that meant he had to buy beer.

What were the odds, Harry thought as he stood in line to pay for his groceries, of meeting your cat-loving neighbor twice in one day, and that both your cats had the same food preferences?

Not that it meant anything.

It's not like it was a sign.

Besides, Harry didn't believe in signs.

 

Louis

Louis was convinced.

_ It was a sign. _

In fact, he was as certain of it as he had ever been about anything in his life.

"Our cats eat the same brands and varieties of cat food," he said to Zayn, who rolled his eyes as he took a bite of pizza.

"You've said that. Over and over again."

Louis beamed. "It just sounds so nice I want to keep saying it."

Zayn wasn't quite as confident.

"I don't know, mate. He seems kind of stuck up or something. He just left." Zayn shook his head. "I mean, turned around and left. You've liked some strange ones in the past, but," he shrugged, "I don't know. This one just doesn't seem to be your type."

Louis sniffed and looked offended. "What does that even mean? I don't have a type."

Zayn stared at him in disbelief. "Would you like me to give you a rundown of all the examples of how much of a type you don't have?"

Even Louis had to chuckle at that.

So, he had a type.

What exactly was wrong with that?

"What makes Harry not my type then?"

Zayn took a deep breath and contemplated his answer after another bite of pizza.

"Well. Looks-wise...Harry kind of fits the bill."

Louis' face suddenly felt warm.

"The brown curls. The green eyes. He's definitely got a look." Zayn continued.

Louis swooned.

"But," Zayn countered quickly, "you've always liked, well, sort of happy-go-lucky sorts. Sociable."

Louis raised his head and fixed sharp eyes on Zayn.

"And you think Harry's not?"

Louis could answer this himself. Zayn was right. Going on first impressions alone, Harry did seem a bit of a snob. But, there was something there. Louis was sure there was something beneath that icy exterior.

He had a cat, Louis thought. And he knew all the jokes about cat people, but he was a cat person himself and knew they weren't all true.

They weren't  _ all  _ crazy.

It took a cat person to know a cat person. Besides, the fact that he had a pet meant something.

Louis just knew it.

Zayn shrugged. "Don't know. Don't know enough about him, do I? He just seems sort of...uptight, is all."

"Which is why we're perfect for each other! Don't look at me like that! Hear me out!"

Louis stood up and began pacing as he made his case for what he intended to be a full-on hot pursuit of his next-door-neighbor. The fact that said neighbor was only a few doors away at this very moment made him positively giddy. "You said I shouldn't scare him off. Because, that's me, right? I'm the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants guy. Spontaneous. Fun-loving!" Zayn nodded and motioned for him to continue."So, he needs me! He needs me to bring a breath of fresh air into his life! He needs me to draw him out of his shell."

Zayn snorted. "What makes you think he wants to be drawn out? Maybe he's a loner."

"Oh, Zayn. Nobody wants to be alone."

"Some people do, mate."

Louis rolled his eyes. "So maybe some people do. But, Zayyyyn, they don't want to be  _ lonely _ ."

Zayn couldn't argue with that. Because the two were different things entirely.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Louis' face crumpled as he sat across from Zayn again.

"I don't know. You said, don't scare him away. And I have a tendency to do that, don't I."

Zayn grinned. It was one of the things he found endearing about Louis: his ability to just throw himself at people, almost as if he were daring them not to like him. He admired Louis' willingness to put his heart out there. But, not everyone could take that openness. They sat in silence for a while, until Tiger came padding in on soft feet. He blinked at Louis then jumped onto his lap.

Zayn blinked slowly and began to smile.

"What are you smiling about then?" Louis said, as he scratched Tiger between the ears.

"I think you should let Tiger woo Harry for you. You said it yourself. Your cats have chemistry. Maybe Tiger can convince him to give you a chance."

Louis sat, silent, petting Tiger, who seemed ready to fall asleep on his lap. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Zayn. You're a genius. An actual genius."

"Go on. I'm not."

"You are. What would I do without you?"

"Crash and burn, most likely."

Tiger had already engineered the almost-perfect meet-cute. Louis was sure Tiger could do it again. How could Harry possibly resist? Tiger was a very charming cat, very much like Louis himself: loud, playful, overly affectionate, and with no concept of personal space.

It was the perfect plan.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Harry

Harry was satisfied.

It was perfect.

He loved it when recipes turned out exactly the way you wanted them. And judging by the dreamy expression on Niall's face, he'd hit the mark exactly.

"What is in this?" Niall asked, as he put another spoonful of the cake in his mouth.

"Good, innit?" Harry said, with a grin. "Umm," Niall widened his blue eyes at Harry.

"More like, amazing. Glorious. I think I would go so far as to say ‘heavenly.’"

Harry chuckled. "Am glad you like it."

Niall swallowed and grinned. "And I am glad that I have friends who make desserts and who message out of nowhere inviting me to eat them." He raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but why exactly did you invite me?"

Harry shrugged and took a spoonful of dessert himself. Niall wasn't lying. It was, indeed, glorious. Maybe even heavenly. "Felt like company."

Niall gave him a knowing look. "Spill it then."

"What? Nothing. There's nothing to tell. I was at the shops and I suddenly had the urge to bake something delicious and dessert is no fun unless you share."

Niall nodded. "This is true. But, you could have invited anyone."

Harry shrugged. "I wanted to invite you. You're my friend."

Niall sighed. He had told Harry again and again that he needed to go out and meet new people. Harry maintained he didn't like new people. He had Zoe and he had Niall and he was perfectly content. Niall wasn't buying it. They had met when Niall, a photographer, had come by the bakery where Harry worked to take pictures to accompany an article featuring the bakery and its specialties. He’d ended up eating most of the items he’d photographed. It had been a good day for Niall. But it had also been a good day for Harry, because Niall was the kind of person that made other people feel instantly at ease. They didn't see each other frequently. Niall would invite Harry out to have drinks at the pub once in awhile, and occasionally, Harry would say yes.

Then there were nights like this one, when Harry would invite Niall over for the sole purpose of feeding him. Niall considered himself very lucky.

"You need to get out of your house more," Niall insisted. "You need to meet people. Other than myself."

"I meet people," Harry said, defensively. "In fact, I met a new person today."

Niall perked up. "Tell me. Everything."

Harry shook his head. "There isn't that much to tell. Hey, actually, I met two people today."

"It just keeps getting better."

"His name is Louis. He has a cat. He lives in this building."

Niall gaped at him. "Are you serious? He lives right here? Well, why didn't you invite him over for dessert, you fool?"

Harry looked aghast. "I've only just met him, Niall. He's practically a stranger. You don't invite strangers into your house for dessert."

Niall confounded Harry. He was one of the few friends Harry had and Harry loved him, but his willingness to just jump into new situations and meet new people and do new things was endlessly confusing to him. Harry just didn't have that in him. At least, he didn't think he did.

"Besides. I'm not sure I like him," Harry said, licking his spoon.

"Why not? What's wrong with him?" Harry thought about that for a moment.

Louis.

Louis was gorgeous. He had what Harry's mum would call a fine face. Delicate features, sharp blue eyes, a quick smile. He was smaller than Harry, but not skinny. Almost...curvy actually, if Harry was being perfectly honest.

Not that he'd been looking.

Not really.

"Ok. He must be fit or something, because you are literally staring into space," Niall said, shoulders shaking with barely suppressed laughter.

"No!" Harry said, trying to sound offended and failing miserably. "I mean. Well, yeah. I guess, he is. Fit, I mean. If you like that sort of thing."

"So? What's not to like then?" "He's just...so..." Harry fumbled for words. "Friendly."

Niall put his hands on Harry's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Mate, friendly is a good thing."

Harry shook Niall's hands off. "He's..." He shook his head. " Too loud. Even his cat is overbearing. Can you believe he was sat in my window box this morning sunning himself? Rude."

Harry looked at Zoe, who was sitting by the window, her face pressed to the pane, almost as if she were still looking for the ginger cat that had spent the morning there. "

She looks a bit fat, doesn't she?" Niall said, suddenly.

Harry walked over to the Zoe and picked her up. "Hmm."

She was a little heavy. And she had been eating quite a lot. And sleeping a lot too.

"Think I should take her to see a vet?" Harry was suddenly worried.

Niall shrugged. "I don't know anything about cats myself. But, it couldn't hurt?" Niall's face brightened. "I did a photoshoot at the animal shelter and there was a vet there!" He rummaged through his bag and produced a card. "There you go. You can take Zoe there."

Harry nuzzled Zoe closer.

"What does Zoe say about your neighbor's cat?" Niall asked, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Don't know. Zoe, what did you think of Tiger?" Zoe turned to Harry and meowed plaintively.

"Sounds like Zoe's made a friend. And if Zoe can make a friend, you can too." Niall said, laughing. Harry was about to retort, when Zoe meowed again, quite loudly and assertively.

"Even Zoe agrees with me!" Niall cackled.

His cat had turned against him. Harry wasn't quite sure what he had done to deserve this.

Louis 

Louis was grateful.

He always knew Zayn was smart, but this was quite possibly the smartest idea his best friend had ever had.

"We really must find a way to thank Zayn, Tiger," Louis said as he scribbled a note onto the gift for Zoe. It was a felt covered catnip mouse, one of Tiger's favorite toys. Luckily, Louis just happened to have an extra one on hand. Tiger sat on the kitchen counter, his eyes following Louis' every move. Tiger stretched a paw out to pat the cat toy lying on the kitchen counter, but Louis snatched it up and dropped it into a brown paper bag. "Tch. Naughty. This isn't for you, it's for Zoe!" Louis gave the note an appraising glance. "Dear Zoe, hope you like this as much as I do. Hope to CAT-ch you around. Tiger," he read aloud. "What do you think, boy? Too much of a dad joke? Not funny enough? Just right?" Tiger fixed him with a green-eyed stare then yawned and proceeded to groom himself. Louis nodded. "I think it's just right too. Now let's go a courtin'."

He opened his door a crack to check that the coast was clear. He tiptoed across the hall and placed the package in front of Harry's door. He straightened up and contemplated knocking on the door, but thought better of it. "Don't scare him off," he murmured to himself and walked back to his flat.

Louis would never admit to Zayn that breakfast took longer than usual because in between bites of toast and sips of tea he would rush to the door to check through the peephole if the gift had been received. "A watched pot never boils, Tommo," he said to himself as he washed up his breakfast dishes. He disappeared into his bedroom to get ready for work.

By the time he had gotten dressed and stepped outside his flat, the hallway was empty and the gift, gone. Louis sighed. It was too much to ask that he get to bump into Harry in the hallway. Far too much to ask that Harry would shower him with thanks for the thoughtful gift for Zoe. These things took time. Besides, if Zoe was anything like his owner, she was probably playing hard to get. Louis grinned to himself as he made his way to the bookshop.

Hard to get was fun.

Hard to get was a challenge and there was nothing Louis Tomlinson liked more than a challenge.

Zayn looked up from the computer when the shop bell rang as Louis entered. "Good morning, Tommo. How goes the first day of wooing?"

Louis nodded and made a mock bow. "As well as can be expected. Our gift was received. Nothing left to do but wait." He paused, grinned and continued, "Wait and prepare the next gift."

Zayn chuckled and shook his head. "Good luck with that."

The rest of the day was a blur of activity, entertaining customers, placing orders, dealing with all the nitty-gritty of running a store. When it seemed that the busiest hours of the day had passed, Zayn and Louis took a break for a cup of tea at the back of the store.

"So," Zayn said, as he took out a tin of biscuits to go with the tea, "what have you decided is your--I mean--Tiger's next course of action?"

Louis winced and shook his head. "I'm not sure. I think I might have gone too much too soon with the premium catnip toy. I don't think there's anywhere left to go."

Zayn rubbed his chin, his expression thoughtful. "See. Here's another instance where having a dog would be better. Because dogs get taken out for walks. What's more romantic than a walk?"

Louis looked blankly at his friend. "What possible good would it be, me having a dog, when the neighbor I'm wooing has a cat?"

"I meant, if you both had dogs. Dogs are more romantic than cats," Zayn said.

Louis rolled his eyes.

Cats got a bad rap, Louis thought, as did the people who liked them. Dog people were always pegged as the friendly, outgoing sorts, who engaged in wholesome, healthy outdoorsy activities. Cat people on the other hand were the potentially psychotic loners, or borderline sociopaths who always, always ended up alone. Louis was tired of it.

All of it.

It was offensive, really.

"Well, Malik, when you get a dog and find some fit lad who also has a dog, we will see just how much more romantic your love story will be. In the meantime, we will focus on me. And Harry. And our cats."

Zayn held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I was just saying..."

"Have you quite finished?" Louis said, tartly.

Zayn grinned. "So what are your plans for this evening? It's a Friday. Fancy a night out?"

Louis made a face. "No. I think I'll just stay home tonight."

"Are you staying home just to wait for Harry to knock on your door?"

"No," Louis answered.

Not really.

"Come on. Come out! It doesn't have to be a late night. We could just grab something to eat. Have a pint." Zayn rolled his eyes. "I'll make sure you get home in time to mope by the door waiting for Harry to come around."

Louis sighed. "Fine."

"Besides, if you're going to be part of a couple soon, I need to spend as much time with my best mate as I can," Zayn said.

"Stop," Louis said, smiling warmly at his friend.

They went out for dinner and a pint, just like Zayn said. And Louis had fun. Like he always did when he was out with Zayn. For a long time, his life had been this, he thought, surveying the scene: going out, maybe looking for a good-looking lad to pull. Sometimes he would go home by himself. Sometimes he would take someone back to his place.

But they never stayed.

And it wasn't as if Louis ever asked them.

He hadn't been in a serious relationship for some time. He hadn't even noticed that he spent most of his time at the shop, or with Zayn, or at home.

With Tiger.

_Christ._

He was _that_ cat person. He was alone. And sitting in his flat that evening, with Tiger on his lap, Louis might have also admitted to himself that he was, perhaps, also just a little bit lonely.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Liam! :) And Harry confronts Louis.

Harry

Harry was in shock.

Or denial.

Or both.

"Zoe...is...pregnant." Harry said. The words felt strange and foreign on his tongue.

The vet Niall had recommended cradled Zoe in his arms and nodded, a pleasant smile on his face. Zoe, in the manner of all traitorous cats, seemed to forget that Harry was in the room, content to simply gaze into Dr. Liam Payne's deep brown eyes as she expressed her satisfaction with his care with loud purrs.

"That she is," Liam said, smoothing his hand over her belly. "Very much so. So, you've probably noticed that she's eating a lot more. Because, she's eating for...well..." Liam put Zoe down on the examining table. "Is this her first pregnancy?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, then, since it's her first, she'll probably only have two or three kittens." Liam chuckled. "I did have one cat who had five. But, do you know that the record for kitten litters is 19!" Liam beamed at Harry and the force of his good nature was so overwhelming, Harry had to sit down.

Liam looked at him with a worried expression.

"Are you alright? I take it it's a bit of a surprise then?"

Harry nodded again.

"Yeah. Yeah. It is that. A surprise."

"Well, she seems to be in perfect health. How old is Zoe?"

"Going on two years."

"Aah. A late bloomer. Did you know cats can go into heat as early as four months old?"

Harry felt ill.

"Where is the tom?" Liam asked, his hands on his hips.

"What?" Harry asked, dumbly.

"Well, there has to be a male cat." Liam shook his head. "So you don't own a male cat? Just Zoe?"

Harry nodded again. Yes, it was just him and Zoe, okay? He lived alone, he had a cat, they were perfectly happy. Why couldn't people get that?

"Well. She must have gone into heat...And maybe she got out of your flat and...well. You know."

Liam Payne, animal doctor and animal shelter volunteer, a professional by all indications, actually appeared to be blushing. Harry had to grin. He was tempted to pretend he had no idea what Dr. Payne was talking about, but the vet had turned almost comically pink and Harry didn't have it in him to prolong his agony.

"Yes. I guess I do know."

Liam exhaled, the relief visible on his face. "So, the typical gestation period is about 65 days. Her abdominal swelling is quite evident now, so I'd say she's about five weeks in. We can do an ultrasound too, to be absolutely sure, and then you can know exactly how many kittens Zoe will have!" He beamed at Harry.

Liam rubbed Zoe's head and she closed her eyes, rolled onto her back and presented her belly to be rubbed. Harry had never seen Zoe so comfortable or so affectionate with a stranger. He concluded Liam must be some sort of cat whisperer.

The ultrasound confirmed that Zoe was indeed pregnant (despite Harry crossing his fingers and murmuring prayers to all manner of deities in the heavens above that it was all just a horrible mistake). Liam also gleefully announced that Zoe would have four kittens.

"Four! That's quite a first litter!" Liam sang out, practically clapping his hands in excitement.

Leave it to Zoe to be an overachiever, Harry thought.

"So," Harry ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Is there anything that I, like, need to do? Prepare? For the kittens?"

Liam shook his head. "Not really. I can let you know what the signs are that she's going to deliver soon. You might want to bring her in, unless you'd prefer to help her deliver the kittens yourself."

Harry shook his head.

"No, no, no," he said slowly and emphatically. "I definitely do not want to do that."

Liam nodded, his face a perfect picture of sympathy.

"I understand how overwhelmed you must feel. But really, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. Just continue as you're doing. Zoe is a lovely and healthy cat, you're doing a wonderful job," he said, earnestly.

Harry would swear up and down to anybody who would listen that at those words, Zoe turned to look at him with an expression on her face that said nothing would please her more than to go home with this strong, noble, perfect and warm specimen of veterinary doctor.

Never mind that she was Harry's cat.

Harry took more pleasure than he should in removing Zoe from Liam's arms and dumping her unceremoniously into her cat carrier.

"Here, let me give you a prescription for some supplements for Zoe," Liam walked over to his desk and pulled out a prescription pad on which he scrawled his recommendations.

"She'll be eating a lot, but you don't want her to get too heavy as it might cause complications with the delivery. So, let her eat her regular cat food, but don't give her too many extra treats or anything like that," Liam said, handing the piece of paper to Harry. "If something seems not quite right, feel free to give me a call."

Harry thanked Liam and promised that he would be in touch. As Harry left, he found himself wishing he could be as excited about kittens as Liam seemed to be.

But, as he made his way home, instead of getting used to the idea of Zoe being pregnant, Harry found that his annoyance with the whole situation grew the more he thought about it.

He couldn't have kittens. He had his hands full handling just Zoe. A litter of kittens would be impossible.

Besides, Zoe was an only cat. A princess. If Harry had wanted her to be breeding, he would have gone the route of all responsible owners and found a suitable mate for her, one that would have all the right documents and who would guarantee that Zoe would have a litter of perfect offspring: healthy, handsome, well-bred.

Not just some neighbor's tomcat.

A stripey, ginger tomcat no less. Harry almost shuddered. What would the kittens even look like?

Because, as far as Harry knew, there were no other cats in their building.

The whole situation was a disaster.

And Harry knew exactly who to blame.

 

Louis

Louis was in shock.

Which in itself was surprising, since Louis was very rarely surprised by anything. Life so rarely went according to plan. It was best to simply roll with the punches and take the hand life dealt you. Louis' personal philosophy was: expect the unexpected.

Also: work hard, play harder.

But, at this very moment, Louis was absolutely gobsmacked.

And it wasn't because Harry had appeared all of a sudden at his doorstep, which in itself was not really a surprise and more like a wish fulfilled, but rather because of the news Harry bore.

"Excuse me?"

Harry's expression was somewhere between merely annoyed and positively murderous.

"Zoe is pregnant."

"And?" Louis was still trying to get over how very fine Harry looked and his brain was struggling to catch up with the conversation.

Harry let out a strangled cry of frustration.

"Well, clearly... _ clearly _ ," Harry repeated, rolling his eyes, "Tiger is responsible!

Louis shook his head in a desperate effort to clear the cobwebs from his brain.

"You'd better come in," Louis said, opening the door wider to let Harry through. "I was just going to sit down and have some tea. Would you like a cup? Or," he paused and grinned, "something stronger?"

Harry entered Louis' flat and sat himself rather gingerly on the sofa. Once inside, his anger seemed to dissipate into something resembling resignation.

"Actually," Harry said, in a calmer tone, "a cup of tea would be lovely."

Louis nodded and began preparing two cups.

"Now,"  he said, handing Harry a mug and seating himself opposite his visitor with his own cup in hand, "I think you'd better start from the beginning."

Harry took a deep breath.

"I had a friend over the other night and he mentioned that Zoe was looking fat."

_ Wait, what? _

Friend?

Also... _ he _ ?

Louis' vision suddenly went dark. This was not how he expected this conversation to go.

But Harry went on, with no apparent regard for Louis' expectations or feelings.  "And I had noticed that she had been eating quite a lot and when I picked her up she was quite heavy. Niall gave me the number of a veterinarian that he met and I brought Zoe today. The vet confirmed it. Zoe is pregnant."

So... _ Niall. _

Louis would deal with that important piece of information later. He forced himself to follow Harry's line of reasoning.

"Zoe is pregnant. And you somehow think Tiger is the father."

"He's the only other cat in this building!" Harry exclaimed.

Tiger padded into the living room, almost as if he knew he was the topic of conversation. Both Louis and Harry turned to look at him and he promptly sat, lifted his hind leg into the air and began grooming himself.

Harry let out what sounded like a whimper.

Louis turned to him, smiling broadly.

Well. This was even better than he had hoped. Tiger deserved all the medals in the world.

And also, Zayn was wrong about dogs being more romantic.

This, Louis thought,  _ this _ was romantic.

"Well, that's wonderful! We're family now!" Louis crowed.

Harry looked at him like he was crazy, but Louis ignored it.

"You and Zoe, me and Tiger!" Louis said, gesturing to Harry and then to himself. "The four of us, we're family. And we're expecting! We should be celebrating!"

Harry shook his head. "That...that's...ridiculous."

"Oh, but it isn't. Obviously, you'll need help with the kittens. I've always wanted to raise a litter of kittens. And of course, Tiger and I demand joint custody. We will not accept anything less."

Harry was still shaking his head, but was no longer protesting.

Louis took this as a good sign.

"You should give me the name of the vet you went to. I should get Tiger checked out as well, eh?" He didn't actually think they did paternity tests for cats. But, he intended to become intimately involved with anything that had to do with Zoe and Harry. And if taking Tiger to the vet would do that, then Louis was willing to go the extra mile.

Louis paused and a look of concern crossed his face. "Zoe is alright, isn't she? I mean, the vet didn't say that there was anything wrong with her?"

"No. Not at all. He said Zoe was perfectly healthy and that there was nothing to worry about." 

Harry said, dully.

"Brilliant!" Louis exclaimed.

Harry gulped down the rest of his tea and pulled out Liam's card from his pocket and handed it to Louis. He stood up abruptly and walked to the door, but when he got there, he turned stiffly back to Louis and said, "Thank you very much for the tea. It was lovely. But, I think it's probably best that Zoe and I do this on our own." He turned to the door, paused and turned back to Louis. “Also, thank you for the catnip toy. Zoe loves it.”

Before Louis could say response, Harry was gone.

_ Well. _

Louis scooped Tiger into his arms and held him close to his chest.

"You rascal."

Louis grinned to himself. They would make an honest cat out of Zoe.

And Harry?

Well, Louis was sure he'd come around.

He and Tiger could be very convincing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn and Liam meet. :)

Harry

Harry was...

Well.

He didn't quite know what he was.

And that was a very disconcerting feeling.

So perhaps, Harry was disconcerted.

He was still annoyed about the whole Zoe-being-pregnant situation. But, Louis had been so excited about it, so sure that this was going to turn out well, so excited at the prospect of Zoe having kittens, that Harry found himself wondering if this was indeed a good thing, if maybe he should just let himself relax and see where this took him.

Harry was also bewildered. Louis bewildered him. Niall, with his openness and ease about everything and everyone, was confusing enough to Harry, but Louis...Louis was mystifying.

Harry had never met anyone who just seemed to jump head first into things. True, Harry had not known him long--did not know him at all, really--but Louis did not seem to strike him as the kind of person that thought twice about anything. Harry, in contrast, thought about everything, even his feelings, twice, thrice, over and over again, until he had gone through every possibility, every outcome, and then and only then, would he act.

It didn't occur to him to do things any other way.

And yet, here he was.

Despite his careful planning, despite his regimented lifestyle, despite all his efforts to control every aspect of every day, here he was: in a situation he had never planned for, never expected, never thought would come.

And with a person who irritated, frustrated...and...yes, fascinated him.

He had gone to Louis' apartment last night to confront him with the fact that his tomcat had clearly taken advantage of his lovely queen and had left feeling more out of sorts than when he had arrived.

How dare Louis impose himself on this situation? How dare he involve himself in Harry's...well, Harry's cat's life?

Harry had set that straight last night. This would be something he would handle on his own and Louis would have no part in it.

That was that.

He had left his apartment early the next day, wanting to avoid any awkward confrontations in the lobby. He had kept himself busy at work: filling orders and testing new recipes.

When he got home, he breathed a sigh of relief that there was no sign of Louis in the hallway. He went to collect his mail and found a package wrapped in plain brown paper. Harry tucked it under his arm and quickly let himself into his flat. Zoe mewed at him and jumped off the sofa to rub herself against his legs.

"Hello, Zoe. We have a package."

He carefully unwrapped the parcel and a piece of paper slipped out.

"Something I think we could use. Exciting times ahead! - Louis and Tiger"

Harry made a face and looked at the contents of the package.

"What to Expect When Your Cat is Expecting," he read the title aloud and despite his annoyance at his overbearing neighbor, found himself smiling. He bent down and picked up Zoe, who meowed happily.

"You are getting massive, Zoe. You had better not overdo it. I don't think Dr. Liam would like it."

Zoe fixed her green eyes on him and swatted at his face with a paw, proving to Harry once again, that cats understood everything.

And also that he owned the world's most ungrateful feline.

As Harry prepared his supper for one, he wondered if perhaps he ought to reconsider Louis'  offer of help.

It had seemed ridiculous the previous evening. Clearly, he and Louis had nothing in common (Aside from cats, and even their cats were nothing alike!). Niall was always telling him to meet people and to get out more, but surely he hadn't meant to start raising a litter of kittens with a perfect stranger, with somebody Harry wasn't even sure he liked?

No.

The whole idea was preposterous.

Zoe would have her kittens, ably assisted by Dr. Liam Payne, and Harry would then find homes for them. Because there was no way he was going to keep four little monsters in his flat.

Louis and Tiger would not have anything to do with the matter.

Harry suddenly heard Zoe meow, and he glanced around to find out where she was. He found her sitting in front of the door, batting the little catnip mouse from paw to paw, and occasionally, scratching at the little gap under the door's frame.

Harry frowned.

"Zoe. Get away from there and stop clawing at the door," he reprimanded.

If cats could look distraught, Harry thought, that was how Zoe looked. She let out a loud wail, a sound that Harry had never heard her make before.

Harry was about to scold her, when he thought he heard a faint meow in response. He looked at the door in shock. Zoe had heard it as well and she stood and rubbed her body against the door, purring. Harry stood and looked through the peephole. He was unsurprised to find Louis' door open and his neighbor holding a meowing Tiger in his arms.

"Tiger says good night, Zoe!" Harry heard Louis call across the hallway, before stepping back into his flat and closing the door. Zoe meowed again, gave Harry a rebellious look, and padded away to sulk in her bed.

Harry stepped away from the peephole and stood with his back pressed against the door.

Clearly, this was going to be more difficult than he realized.

Louis

Louis was determined.

Just who did Harry Styles think he was, saying no to Louis?

One did not simply say no to Louis Tomlinson. Not when Louis Tomlinson decided on something he wanted.

And even though Louis wasn't entirely sure that Harry was exactly what he wanted, he felt he deserved at least chance to find out for himself. What was the saying? It's the journey, not the destination. There could be all sorts of interesting things to learn along the way.

Take now, for instance, at the animal clinic where they had met the charming, young, and hot (Harry had not mentioned hot) veterinarian, Liam Payne.

Liam wasn't exactly Louis' type (because, he had decided that he did indeed have a type), but he couldn't deny, Liam was very fit.

When Louis and Zayn had entered the clinic, Liam had been on the phone talking to a client panicking about her pet and had simply waved his hand out his office door, saying "Hold on, I'll be with you in a minute! Don't worry about Captain, he's very friendly!"

Captain was a dog of indeterminate breeding, lying on the floor of the waiting room. He gazed up at Zayn and Louis, his mouth opened in what was clearly the dog version of "Hello, I'm very pleased to meet you, can we be friends?" Zayn happily sat on the floor, whereupon Captain rolled on to his back, presenting his belly for rubbing. Louis took a spot on the couch, with Tiger comfortably seated on his lap.

When Liam finally came out, rubbing his hands, with a smile that could have supplied power to a third world country, Louis knew. He had expected this to be a dull and rather uneventful vet visit. Clearly, he was wrong. He glanced at Zayn to confirm that he indeed had hearts in his eyes and tried to suppress a grin.

Oh, this was going to be  _ fun _ .

"Hello! Who do we have here?" Liam held out his hands to take Tiger from Louis.

Louis pressed a hand to his chest. "I'm Louis Tomlinson, this is Tiger, and that," he gestured to Zayn, who was still on the floor, with Captain's head in his lap, "is my friend, Zayn Malik."

Liam turned the full-wattage of his smile on Zayn. It was really quite impressive and Louis wanted to congratulate his friend on not immediately melting into a useless puddle of goo on the floor.

"I see you and Captain have taken a liking to each other," Liam, said, his voice warm.

Zayn nodded and managed to stammer a response. "You're...he's lovely."

Louis pressed the back of his hand to his lips to stifle a chuckle.

Zayn ignored him and continued. "What kind of a dog is he?"

Liam put his hands on his hips and looked down at Captain with a curious look.

"You know, I actually don't know. Probably a mix? But I can't tell what of!" Liam chuckled. "I actually just found him on the street, he looked terrible: practically skin and bones. My guess is that he was abandoned by his owner." Liam's jaw took on a hard set and he shook his head. "I couldn't just leave him on the street. But it took a while before he trusted me."

"Brave..." Zayn murmured under his breath.

"Sorry, what was that now, Zayn?" Louis said sharply, trying to keep a smile off his face.

Zayn cleared his throat and looked at Liam directly. "I said you must be very brave to have done that. Just approaching a random dog..."

Liam's cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Oh, no. It's not very brave. He was scared mostly, not fierce. And also, it's kind of my job, isn't it?" He looked at Zayn for a moment longer than Louis thought was completely necessary and then turned to Louis, with a self-conscious grin.

"Speaking of my job...I should get to it, eh? This is Tiger, you say? We can go into the examination room," he said, motioning Louis inside. "Zayn, will you join us?"

Zayn held up a hand. "No, Tiger is Louis' cat. I just came with. Captain and I will just hang out here and chill."

Liam smiled, his eyes crinkling in a way that made Louis believe in magic and fairy dust and happily ever afters.

Louis was certain of it: Zayn was a goner.

Once inside the examining room, Liam turned business-like.

"So, anything you're concerned about in particular?" Liam said, giving Tiger a once over.

"No, no, not really. It's just my neighbor, Harry, came in to see you yesterday. His cat, Zoe, is pregnant?"

Liam's eyes lit up. "Tiger is the father, then! That's brilliant!"

Louis grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm buzzing. Now, Harry,  heh," Louis shook his head, "isn't quite as happy about it."

"I got the same impression. I told him there wasn't anything to worry about. Zoe is perfectly healthy. And so is Tiger." Liam scratched Tiger under the chin and Tiger purred happily.

"So, all clear then?" Louis asked. "Clean bill of health?"

"Good coat, nice weight, bright eyes, healthy teeth and gums," Liam shrugged. "Looks good to me."

Louis nodded. "Good, good. I'll tell Harry that you gave Tiger the thumbs-up!"

"Of course. Great, innit! Like a proper family!"

_ Oh, Dr. Liam Payne. You're definitely invited to the wedding,  _ Louis thought to himself.

When they stepped into the waiting room, Zayn was still on the floor, taking pictures of Captain on his phone.

Liam crouched down to pet Captain, who got up to lick at his face. Zayn quickly snapped a picture and then stuffed his phone into his pocket, his face red.

"He's really such a nice dog," Zayn said, getting to his feet.

"He is," Liam said. "It's weird though, I'm having the devil of a time trying to find him a home. I think it's because most people want to have a dog that's, well, you know, purebred or something."

"Not a mudblood," Zayn said with a frown.

Liam's head snapped towards Zayn, a flash of recognition in his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah. Good reference, mate."

Zayn shrugged, a smile on his face. "Can't work in a bookshop and not have a Harry Potter reference at the ready." He paused. "So, you're looking for a home for him?"

"Yeah. I'd take him myself. Only I've already got three dogs at home." Liam shook his head. "I couldn't take another. I hope I find a home for him soon though," he said, a tinge of worry in his voice.

"I hope you do, too," Zayn said, biting his lip.

"And...we really must be going," Louis said, apologetically, nudging Zayn.

"Oh, of course," Liam said. "It was very nice to meet you. Louis, Tiger...Zayn." Liam paused then smiled broadly. "Looking forward to the kittens, Louis! Exciting times!"

Louis grinned.

_ Indeed. _


	6. Chapter 6

Harry

Harry was desperate.

Zoe was slowly, but surely, driving him crazy.

Nothing would appease Zoe.

She didn't like her food. She wasn't comfortable in her bed. She wasn't comfortable in  _ Harry's  _ bed. She wanted to be pet. She didn't want to be pet. She wanted to sit on the couch. She wanted the telly on. She hated all the shows that were on the telly.

Harry was at a total loss.

Because she stopped eating her cat food (even though Harry had gone to the shops and bought another flavor, just in case Zoe could be tempted by the seafood variant), Harry had even tried feeding her canned tuna and even a bit of fresh fish.

For all the options Harry had tried, Zoe would take a few bites than leave her dish, meowing pitifully. Harry had also given her the supplements Liam had prescribed and she had taken them dutifully, which reassured Harry that at least she was getting some nutrition.

Except tonight, she refused any food and she turned up her nose at the supplements as well.

"Hi Liam? I'm really sorry to bother you. I don't know what's wrong with Zoe, she's just...she..." Harry paced his flat as he spoke, trying to figure out how to describe the situation. "She's not interested in her food, she's refusing her supplements. She can't seem to get comfortable anywhere..." Harry's voice trailed off, listening to Liam's response.

"Well, ok. If she's still like this tomorrow, I might bring her in, if that's okay? Okay. Thanks so much. Bye."

Harry leaned against his kitchen counter, his forehead wrinkled in worry.

"Zoe. Come on." Harry crooned, bending down to present her with a dish of canned tuna.

Zoe meowed unhappily and moved towards the door. She lay in front of it, her claws scrabbling at the gap under the door.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"You know what? I give up, Zoe. If you're not interested in the food, then don't eat."

Zoe ignored him.

She had been acting this way for days.

It was getting ridiculous.

Last night, Harry had invited Niall over for dinner and a movie, just so he could distract himself from her strange behavior.  

"You sure she's okay, mate?" Niall had asked uneasily, as he made himself comfortable on the sofa with a beer. Zoe had leaped onto his lap and was massaging his stomach with her paws, all the while, meowing aggressively.

"Ouch. She's strong isn't she?"

Harry tried to shoo Zoe off Niall's lap, but she refused to move, only meowing even louder.

"She's never like this," Harry said, exasperated.

"Umm, Harry, I think she fully intends to claw straight through my shirt," Niall said, his voice shaky with both laughter and fear.

Harry eventually had to remove Zoe bodily from Niall's lap and then shut her in his bedroom. They turned the volume on the television up to drown out Zoe's complaining.

Niall was kind enough to ignore the racket and was pleasant company, as usual. When Harry offered him another beer, he gladly accepted, took a swig and then jerked a thumb in the direction of Harry's bedroom.

"Harry...I hate to say this, but you're going to have to do something about your cat."

Harry ran a hand through his hair and made a face.  "I don't know what to do. Liam says there's nothing  _ to  _ do. He's never heard about cats having emotional attachments." He took a deep breath. "But leave it to my cat to be the only one in the world that falls in love."

Niall grinned. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two, then."

"Love." Harry grunted inelegantly. "Love is overrated."

"Well, then maybe it doesn't have to be love. Not for you, that is." Niall set his beer bottle down carefully (on a coaster, because Harry was civilized like that) and rested his chin on his hand. "Maybe you and your neighbor could just let your cats have whatever it is they have and you can just...be friends." Niall shrugged. "I mean it doesn't have to be anything else, does it?"

"So," Harry said slowly, "we just let our cats build a family together and Louis and I will...be friends."

"Friends," Niall said, firmly. "I've heard people say good things about friendship. It works for us, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes. But..."

"But...I'm not your type and Louis is?" Niall cackled, slapping his palm on the table.

Harry looked offended.

"I don't have a type."

And if he did have a type, it would certainly not be loud, overbearing, tomcat owning, pretty boys like Louis Tomlinson.

Because he really was very pretty, Harry thought.

Not that that made any difference about how he felt about him in the slightest.

Niall arched an eyebrow at him, lifted his beer bottle to Harry in a toast and murmured 

"Whatever you say, Styles. Whatever you say."

Louis

Louis was hopeful.

Despite the fact that Harry had ignored all his advances thus far, Louis was confident that both he and his cat could be won over.

With a fair amount of effort and some help from Zayn, Louis had figured out that Harry was a baker. In fact, he worked at the bakery that Louis had looked at but never stepped into, fearing that it would be all frou-frou, Frenchified pastries that were pretty and sweet, but never quite hit the spot.

Zayn, because he had a massive sweet tooth (and was also the best friend one could ever ask for and that Louis was well aware he did not deserve) had done some investigative pastry buying and brought a box to the bookshop to satisfy their curiosity.

"Mmmm." Zayn said, licking his lips.

"Which one? Which one is 'mmmm'"? Louis said, leaning over the box that Zayn had brought.

"I don't know. Everything I've tried has been 'mmmm'," Zayn said, shrugging.

"Fat lot of good you are, then." He perused the array of pastries in the box and settled for what looked like a chocolate covered shortbread. He took a bite and his eyes widened slightly.

"Good, right? Melting in your mouth, right?"

Louis chewed and swallowed, held up a finger and took another bite.

Zayn chuckled. "Told you, didn't I."

Louis had finished his second bite and was shaking his head appreciatively. "Delicious." He suddenly gave a loud wail and buried his face in his hands.

"What's gotten into you, then?" Zayn said, eyebrows raised.

Louis lifted his head. "He bakes like a dream, he's handsome as they come, he understands about the cats...and he won't even give me the time of day! I must be losing my edge, Zayn! I swear!"

Zayn leaned back in his chair. "Tough nut to crack, eh."

Louis sighed. "Maybe I should just give up."

Zayn's eyes widened. "Seriously? This does not sound like the Louis Tomlinson I know."

"It doesn't sound like the Louis Tomlinson,  _ I _ know," Louis said, pressing a hand to his chest. He shook his head. "Forget it. This is depressing. Let's talk about something else. Have you made any progress with Liam?"

Zayn actually blushed.

"What makes you think I'm even attempting to make progress with Liam?"

"Because...just now? You're the human embodiment of the heart eyes emoji. Don't try and hide your feelings from me, Zayn. I know you too well."

"Well..." Zayn's voice trailed off.

Louis leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. "I can't believe you. What haven't you told me?"

"There's nothing too much to tell. Yet," Zayn protested weakly.

Little by little, Zayn's story came out. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the dog ("The dog? Really, Zayn, at the very least, you could be honest and say it's about Liam!"). Zayn had emailed Liam asking him about the procedures for possibly adopting Captain. Liam had sent him a lovely email back and suggested that they meet within the week to discuss it.

"So? When are you meeting?"

"Maybe tomorrow evening," Zayn said with a smile.

"Well." Louis leaned back in his chair. "At least something good has come of all this. At the very least, you'll get a dog!"

Zayn smiled. "He's a lovely dog."

"Oh, stop."

"And fine, Liam isn't too bad either."

Louis buried his face in his hands. "Maybe you're right. Dog people have cute love stories with romantic walks in the park and happy endings. And cat people are just meant to be alone."

Zayn was sympathetic.  "Have you tried talking to Harry at all?"

"He hasn't even taken notice of the fact that I've left his cat all sorts of lovely gifts, and you think he'll agree to have a chat?"

Zayn shrugged. "It's worth a try, isn't it? You did say that you thought Harry needed to be drawn out of his shell. Maybe he's just shy and can't approach you. You just need to draw him out. Like you said."

Louis shook his head.  "But maybe you're right. Maybe he doesn't want company. Maybe I scared him off."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Louis hadn't thought it was going to be this difficult. But Harry was very different from other boys.

"Maybe you just need to let him get to know you," Zayn said. "Maybe without all the gimmicks. Just you."

"You mean, like, knock on his door and say, hey hey, how's it going, fancy getting a pint and some chips?" Louis looked dubious.

Zayn smiled broadly. "If I recall correctly, it's how you introduced yourself to me!"

Louis grinned.  Zayn was right.

"But..." Louis began.

Zayn rolled his eyes. "But I'm not your type and Harry is. Whatever. I think it's worth a shot. At the very least, you could be friends."

_ Friends. _

Zayn was right. Friends were good. Friends were underrated.

They could raise kittens as friends.

Besides, love could be complicated.

Louis took a sip of tea. "Well. I do have one last gift at the ready." He grinned. "And I fully expect that this will be the turning point." He felt a sudden rush of confidence.

Harry Styles could try all he wanted, but no one was immune to the charms of Louis Tomlinson.

Not even curly haired, green-eyed bakers.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry pulls out the only trick he knows to get Louis to help him with Zoe. Louis meets him halfway. Or all the way. Something like that.  
> Also, Liam offers the theory that maybe cats could be in love. Because Liam’s just romantic that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so, so happy that people are enjoying this fluffy piece of fluff. Honestly, it wasn’t even meant to get this long. That said, we’re nearing the end, folks. I know, I know. I was also sad to see it end. But don’t worry! I’ve got little drabbles in mind, so we won’t have to say goodbye for good to this AU. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. It means the world to have a first post on here get such happy feedback. We can chat on tumblr too, I’m @mc-writer over there.

Harry

Harry was nervous.

He definitely knew he needed help with Zoe. He had taken her to Liam, but the vet had said there was nothing physically wrong with her. Harry had almost felt sorry for him; Liam was so perplexed by Zoe's case and had felt so bad that there was nothing more he could do. More and more, it seemed like the only thing that would make Zoe happy was seeing Tiger.

Which was ridiculous, wasn't it? Cats didn't fall in love.

Did they?

He had felt silly asking Liam this, but he was surprised to find that Liam had actually taken his question seriously.

"You know, lots of vets and scientists say that animals don't feel the same kinds of emotions as humans. But, I've seen cases that make me pretty sure that even though we can't understand it, they do feel something. So...yeah. Maybe, let Zoe see Tiger." A slow smile spread over Liam's face. "Would be dead romantic, wouldn't it?"

Harry was surrounded by romantics.

But this wasn't about romance.

Louis had made it clear that he wanted to help. And clearly, Harry needed help.

So, Harry had bundled Zoe back into her cat carrier and gone home, wondering how he could possibly pull off arranging to have a chat with Louis.

"Neighbors have chats. Neighbors invite people over for tea," Harry said, letting himself into his flat.

Except neighbors were not always as cold and rude as Harry had been to Louis.

But, could he be blamed for it, Harry thought. It was like that scene in Love, Actually (yes, it was Harry's favorite movie, what of it?) Self-preservation was what it was. Harry had just been trying to protect himself.

Because, Louis was...well.

_Louis._

Yes, Niall was right. Louis was fit.

But more, like, lovely. Blue eyes, fine features, skin the color of a perfect caramel sauce.

Louis was also warm somehow. In a way that Harry himself could never be. Harry would never be able to just walk over to someone and strike up a conversation. Just like...hey, you're my neighbor and we both have cats and maybe we could hang out.

Harry would like to be that kind of person.

But he wasn't.

Maybe at one point he was that person? But, people took advantage of you when you were kind. When you wore your heart on your sleeve, you got hurt.

Harry didn't know how to get over being hurt.

Harry didn't know if you _ever_ got over being hurt.

But, this wasn't about him. So maybe he could take one for the team. Take one for their team, for Zoe.

He could do that.

And, who knows, maybe Niall was right about the friends thing.

Maybe they could be friends.

 

Friends who had cats that were in love.

 

Friends who had cats that were going to have kittens together.

 

It was bizarre. Why was Harry’s life so bizarre?

Zoe meowed pitifully at Harry from her place on the sofa.

"Am sorry, Zo. I'm trying to make things right. Give me a chance." Harry sighed and opened up his cupboards to see what he had on hand. Baking would be relaxing and it would also give him a reason to knock on his neighbor's door. One couldn't go asking for favors for one's cat without bringing over something delicious.

"A tart? A pudding?" Harry wrinkled his nose. "Cupcakes. Maybe cupcakes. Everybody likes cupcakes..."

He took down the cupcake tins and set the rest of the ingredients out on the counter.

"Bake as if your life depended on it, Styles," he murmured to himself.

Zoe meowed loudly and scratched at the pillows on the sofa.

"Okay, okay. Bake as if Zoe's life depended on it," he said, loud enough for her to hear.

Zoe curled herself into a ball, her golden eyes never leaving Harry.

"Don't worry, Zoe. I know what I'm doing. These are my no-fail, convince your neighbor to help out with the kittens cupcakes. I will pack them full of the most delicious ingredients and there will be no way Louis Tomlinson can say no."

As he baked, Harry smiled thinking about the little gifts that Louis had left. The catnip toy. The book. Apparently, Louis worked in...well, more like owned really, a bookshop. (Harry may have persuaded Niall to look him up on Facebook.)

He was persistent, Louis was.

And also thoughtful.

Harry felt a pang of regret that he had not been more appreciative. But, how was he to know that Louis was, well...sound?

Never mind.

The cupcakes would make up for it. He was certain.

"Hi, Louis, I've been rethinking your proposition..."

He couldn't use the word _proposition_ , could he? It sounded positively indecent.

"I've been rethinking your proposal..."

Harry blushed.

"No. You can't use the word proposal. It wasn't a proposal anyway," he scolded himself.

"Plan." He slapped a palm on the kitchen counter in satisfaction. "I've been rethinking your plan. And I've decided that I could really use your help with Zoe. Also, it seems that she's desperately missing Tiger's company..."

Zoe started suddenly, leaped off the couch and sped to the door. She began meowing and scratching at the door and Harry was just about to call her off when his doorbell rang.  
  
  
  
Louis

Louis was going for broke.

"Here goes nothing, Tiger," Louis murmured to himself. He grinned slightly, hearing what was clearly Zoe scrabbling at the door. Tiger shifted slightly in his arms and began purring.

The door opened, revealing Harry, apron around his waist, curls pulled back from his head with a scarf, a spot of flour on his cheek.

What was it people said...sight for sore eyes? Because that's certainly what Harry was..

"Err. Seem to have caught you at a busy time, ow, Tiger!"

Tiger had leaped from his arms to join Zoe on Harry's living room floor. For a moment, both Louis and Harry watched the two cats play-fight on the floor. Louis snuck a glance at Harry and smiled at the expression on the taller man's face.

Harry turned to face Louis, smiling in relief. "Thank you - for bringing Tiger over. Zoe's been driving me mad. This is the happiest I've seen her in days."

Louis grinned. "Oh, and I thought you were happy to see me."

Harry bit his lip and smiled back. "Am happy to see you...both."

"Well, I also come bearing gifts, so just in case my mere presence isn't enough, there's also this," Louis handed him a box, which Harry took. "It's a cooling pad. It's for the cats," Louis rushed to explain. "Tiger has one too. But, I figured it might make Zoe more comfortable."

"Oh. Wow. That's...that sounds perfect, really," Harry said simply, turning the box over in his hands to read the information printed on the back. "She's been so irritable lately."

Louis narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Did you not read the book I left you?"

Harry chuckled and rubbed his lower lip, suddenly bashful. "Umm. You caught me. I'm sure it's a page-turner, but I've sort of had a lot going on..."

Louis shook his head. "Tch. And you call yourself a responsible owner. I even went and got Tiger checked out at the vet and everything, to make sure things were a-ok."

Harry looked at Louis with wide eyes. "Really? You went to Liam?"

"That I did. You didn't say anything about him being proper fit. My friend Zayn almost had a heart attack."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah. I guess I should have given you a heads up."

"Well," Louis said, scuffing his sneaker clad foot on the floor. "I can come back for Tiger lat..."

Harry suddenly realized that Louis was still standing in the hallway and smacked a hand to his forehead.

"No, no! Please! Come in. I was just..." Harry paused and smiled, "Baking. Something for you actually." He opened the door wider to let Louis in. "Have you had dinner?"

Louis hesitated briefly then stepped into Harry's flat. His senses were accosted by the mouthwatering aroma of fresh-baked goods.

"May as well come clean, eh? If you responded well to the gift and to me bringing Tiger over, I was going to invite you out to the pub, maybe grab a pint and some chips."

Harry sniffed. "Chips aren't dinner. But..." he grinned, "that actually sounds quite delicious if I'm being honest."

"So, chips a pint and then straight to...whatever it is you're baking because it smells absolutely wonderful," Louis said, tipping his head towards the kitchen.

Harry threw his head back and laughed. A real laugh and Louis was taken aback by how much he liked how it sounded, but even more, how much he liked being the reason for it.

"Sounds like a plan, Lou," Harry said happily. A flush rose on his cheeks at the sound of the nickname that fell easily from his lips. "Sorry, Louis."

"Lou is fine, I don't mind," Louis said with an easy smile, trying to make Harry feel comfortable. It was like being around a timid animal. Louis reminded himself: no sudden movements, or he might spook.

Harry's hand flew to his hair. "Oh, give me a minute, will you? Let me just clean up a bit. And get the cupcakes on a cooling tray, and..."

Louis waved him off. "Go, do whatever you need to do. I can wait, no worries." Louis lowered himself onto the couch. Tiger rolled on the floor and swatted Louis foot. Zoe purred loudly and jumped onto Louis' lap. She looked up at him and curled into a ball, purring happily.

Well. This was a positive development.

If Zoe liked him, then Harry would not be far behind. Louis was sure of it.

Harry had even said yes to the chips and beer. Sure, he had wrinkled his nose at the idea at first. Louis didn't know what he was on about, because, hello, chips and beer was a perfectly fine dinner.

But he had said yes.

Also, Harry made cupcakes. To be honest, Louis did not need more pastries, since he and Zayn had demolished the entire box of goodies at the bookshop. But, Harry's flat smelled amazing and Louis didn't think he could say no.

Louis ran a hand over Zoe's coat and scratched her under the chin.

"What a lovely cat you are," Louis murmured. Zoe purred and rubbed her head against his hand.

He was surprisingly comfortable here. Relaxed, even. He looked over at the kitchen where Harry was busy, expertly turning cupcakes out of the tray and setting them on a cake stand. His face was serious, but also calm, totally in his element. Louis knew he probably had a dopey, fond look on his face and he thanked all the gods he knew that Zayn wasn't there to see it.

Yes, Harry had seemed a little cool and, yes, okay, maybe a bit rude. But, this evening, Louis was seeing a different side of him.

Pleasant. Friendly.

And to be honest, someone that Louis could see fitting into his life.

And it wasn't just about the baked goods.

Not really. Well, not only.

For a change, Louis didn't feel like he had to be, well, on. He didn't feel the pressure to have to be funny or to entertain. Like now. He just felt settled. Louis couldn't believe that he was somehow sat on Harry's couch, with Harry's cat on his lap and his own cat lying at his feet, and Harry in the kitchen baking cupcakes...for him.

Harry had said that, right? That the cupcakes were for Louis?

It was like an alternate reality of his life. Where he wasn't just a crazy cat-owning lad.

Where he wasn't alone.

And it felt amazing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again. Summaries are hard. Harry and Louis and the cats spend a night in.

Harry

Harry was rushing.

He had cupcakes to cool, hair to deal with, and a lovely boy waiting for him on his sofa.

Harry surveyed the cupcakes with a worried expression on his face. He knew they would taste fine, but he would have wanted a chance to ice them. And he didn't even know if Louis liked bananas. He stepped out of the kitchen, pulling the scarf from his head, but he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Louis on the couch, Zoe on his lap.

It should have felt odd, having a stranger in his house. He should probably feel offended that his cat looked far more comfortable on Louis' lap than she had been with Harry the past few days. But, Harry didn't feel any of those things. He didn't even feel overwhelmed by Louis' personality.

He felt pleased, somehow.

Because despite the first impressions, he found that Louis just looked like he fit in. Louis fit into his flat. And it wasn't about...space. There was just something about his energy and presence that brought something bright and warm and lovely into his home.

And amazingly, Zoe looked at him with almost as much adoration as she looked at Liam.

Louis looked so comfortable on the sofa, Harry almost didn't want to move him at all.

"You look comfy," Harry said.

Louis looked over at him. "I am, actually. Almost don't want to get up," he chuckled.

"Actually, I don't know if Zoe will even let you get up," Harry said with a laugh.

"So," Louis said, "what now?"

Harry paced over to the sofa and lowered himself carefully beside Louis, his legs stretched out on the mat. Tiger sat up and looked at him, then walked over and jumped onto his lap.

"Oh, hello Tiger," Harry said rubbing the cat's head. When Tiger purred, Harry turned to Louis beaming, "I think he likes me!"

"Well, why wouldn't he?" Louis said, beaming back.

Harry turned away, shifting his attention back to Tiger. He shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. I was pretty awful to you." He looked back at Louis, green eyes meeting blue ones. "Both of you."

Louis waved his hand, as if to brush away Harry's worries. "Tiger and I...we're a lot to handle. We should have given you a little time to get used to us."

They sat for a while in content silence. Suddenly, Harry's stomach grumbled and 

Louis grinned.

"We should have thought this through I guess. Now we're held hostage," Louis said.

"We could order in?" Harry suggested.  "Real dinner. Proper dinner. Not just chips."

"Heyyy."

Harry smiled. "So, Chinese maybe?"

Louis nodded.

"Perhaps you could call your cat off?" Harry said, gesturing at Tiger who was asleep on his lap.

"I can try. But, you and I both know how cats are." Louis said, nudging Harry's foot with his.

Harry leaned back into the sofa. "Then I'm trapped."

"Oh, just shove him off. Tiger is a big boy. Not a delicate princess," Louis said, tilting his head at Zoe, who had gone to sleep.

"But then he won't like me anymore."

Louis scoffed. "Don't be silly. Tiger likes who I like."

Harry knew he was blushing and normally, he would feel self-conscious about it. But, at the moment, with Louis looking at him the way he was, he found that he wasn't bothered a bit.

Louis cared.

He cared about buying his cat the perfect flavor of food. He cared about his friends. He cared about finding you the right book and the perfect gift. He cared about being helpful.

Louis cared about having kittens.

Niall always said that Harry needed to loosen up, get out there and make friends. But Louis made Harry feel like he didn't need to do anything or be anything, other than himself. 

Because, even when Harry hadn't been particularly open or friendly or pleasant, Louis had never been fazed by it. He had just kept trying.

And that was the kind of person you needed in your corner.

The one who tried, even when you weren't pulling your weight.

The one who made you feel like it might be worth wearing your heart on your sleeve, because they would be cautious and careful with you.

And that made Harry think that maybe he could care too.

  
  


Louis

Louis was happy.

He and Harry had ended up ordering in instead of going out to eat and had just spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other.

So now, Louis knew that Harry had an older sister and Harry knew that Louis had an army of siblings.

"Two sets of twins though?!" Harry had said, eyes dancing. "How crazy is that?"

Louis rolled his eyes. "Oh, you have no idea. No idea, Harry. Our house was just...non-stop."

"But it must also be lovely," Harry murmured.

"Yes. That too." Louis paused, considering his next words. "It's both crazy and lovely. At the same time. What's your sister like?"

"Gemma? She's smart. Like wicked smart. And cool too. Like...a cool nerd if that's at all possible," Harry grinned.

"And your mum?"

"My mum's the best."

Louis arched an eyebrow at Harry. "Well, I may have to beg to differ there, Harold."

They both laughed, which startled the cats. Louis pressed the back of his hand to his mouth to stifle his giggles, then sighed and glanced at his watch.

"This was great. Really great, Harry, thanks ever so much. The cupcakes were to die for."

Harry popped up from the couch. "There are still some left over. Will pack them so you can take some to Zayn tomorrow."

"Wow. That would be awesome, thank you. Zayn will be thrilled. He was raving about everything this afternoon..." Louis' voice trailed off, when he realized he had given the investigative bakery trip away.

"Oh, have you been to the bakery? Does Zayn know it?"

Louis squeezed his eyes shut. "Umm. Well, Zayn found out you were a baker and he did some...reconnaissance."

Harry looked at him with a grin. "Reconnaissance. Is that what they call it these days."

Louis shrugged. "It was basically the final test. If you were a crap baker, then I wouldn't pursue raising kittens with you."

Harry didn't even flinch. The smile never left his face and he continued wrapping up the cupcakes for Louis. Then Harry walked over and handed the package to him.

"Good thing I'm not a crap baker."

Louis relaxed and took the cupcakes.  "Yeah. Lucky."

"Lucky." Harry repeated.

Tiger pressed himself against Louis' legs and meowed up at him. Louis bent over to scoop him up with one arm.

"And on that happy note, I guess it's time for us to go. We wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."

Harry bit his lip. "Please. You're always welcome. In fact, I might be knocking on your door tomorrow to borrow Tiger if it means Zoe won't drive me crazy."

"Oh,  Harold. Don't make any promises you won't keep."

Harry laughed and although the evening had been full of his laughter, Louis was still taken aback by how the sound of it left him slightly breathless. It was like how you felt when you were a kid and went too high on the swings and it made you both scared and excited at the same time.

"I don't see how you can say things like that. You and Niall, you both seem to just say whatever's on your mind." Harry shook his head, his green eyes admiring. "I could never."

"But why not?"

Harry shrugged. "Too scared, I guess."

"Of?" Louis said, leaning against the wall, his arms full of cat and cupcakes.

"I don't know. Being taken the wrong way. Being misunderstood. Saying something stupid and having everything go wrong."

Louis took a deep breath and smiled.

"But, Harry, what about everything that could go right?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry tells Niall about Louis.   
> Harry visits the bookshop  
> Zayn has news about Liam.

Harry

Harry was happy.

Louis' words seemed to lodge themselves into a tiny hole in his heart that he hadn't even been aware of before.

"So. I guess that means I'll see you tomorrow?" Harry said, looking down at his feet, before lifting his eyes to meet Louis’.

He almost wished he hadn't done that quite so fast, because Louis' eyes, up close?

They were unreal.

"Tomorrow. And to keep things fair, maybe at my place?" Louis asked. "If you're comfortable with that."

"As long as I can bring Zoe," Harry said.

"Goes without saying, doesn't it?"

They stood for a moment, smiles threatening to split their faces in two.

Tiger broke the silence with a loud meow.

"Well, tomorrow then?" Louis said, with a chuckle.

"Yes. Tomorrow." Harry said nodded and beamed at Louis.

Louis cleared his throat and tilted his head towards the door. "Have my hands full here. Maybe you could...help a lad out?"

"Oh!" Harry jumped a little and fumbled for the door. "Sorry. Was...distracted."

"Well. Good night, Harry. It was a lovely evening." Louis ducked his head towards the door and called out, "Good night Zoe!"

Both he and Harry waited for a responding meow, but Zoe had either fallen asleep or had simply ignored Louis.

"In this case, silence is a good thing. At least she's not wailing like a banshee. See you tomorrow."

Harry shut the door and immediately pressed his eye to the peephole to watch Louis walk across the hall.

"Good night, Lou," he murmured.

When Louis shut the door behind him, Harry turned to the sofa to face Zoe, arms spread.

"See? I told you I would fix it. I fixed it!"

Zoe blinked sleepily at him from the cooling pad, which Louis had placed on the sofa.  
Harry lowered himself onto the couch beside Zoe and gently stroked her head. She purred, content.

"We've got a date tomorrow evening, you and I," Harry said softly. "How about that?"

Zoe was silent, but she leaned her head into his hand.

"Yeah. I'm surprised, too." Harry let his head rest against the sofa cushions. "But...happy. I think   
I'm happy." He looked down at Zoe. "Weird."

He picked Zoe up to hug her against his chest and she didn't complain as she had in previous days.

"But, nice. Right, Zo?"  
  
Zoe surprised Harry by purring contentedly and gently patting his face with a paw. She then wriggled out of his arms, walked over to the cooling pad that had been Louis’ present, circled twice and lay down, licked her face once and closed her eyes.

Harry didn’t know how much more amazing his night could get.

As he let himself into his bedroom, he fished his mobile phone out of his pocket and sent a message to Niall.

**I think I have a new friend**

Harry went to brush his teeth and shower and by the time he flopped onto his bed, there were four messages waiting from his friend:

_GET IT HAZ_

_HOW’D IT GO_

_d ye mean friend friends or FRIEND FRIENDS_

_can’t believe ur not answering tosser_

Harry chuckled and lay back, thinking about how he should reply.

Well of course they were just friend friends.

Right?

It was too soon to be anything more. 

But there was something about Louis and the whole evening that had had piqued Harry’s curiosity, that made him wonder what he’d been missing all this time, by shutting his heart away.

Wearing your heart on your sleeve got you hurt sometimes, that was for sure. But hiding made you cold and lonely, and though Harry had never admitted it to himself, that hurt too. In a different way, yes, but it was a hurt all the same.

Hiding meant nobody got to see who you really were.

Hiding meant keeping people at arm’s length, just because you were too damn scared.

Louis made Harry wonder if he was ready to let someone in. 

He took a deep breath and rattled off a message to Niall.

**we are friends**

Not even ten seconds went by before Niall’s reply bloomed on screen

_WHAT DOES THAT MEEAAAN_

Harry grinned.

**don’t know**

Niall replied again

_But you’re good? Ok?_

Harry took a deep breath.

**Yeah. Am good. Am ok.**

Niall seemed to have run out things to reply because Harry’s phone stayed silent, so Harry sent him another message.

**Am happy.**

Niall replied within seconds.

_So you’re seeing him again?_

Harry replied: **tomorrow**.

To which Niall only said again: _GET IT!_

It had been a long time since Harry had gone to sleep with the fizzy, fuzzy feeling in his stomach and a smile on his lips. But it was something he thought he could get used to. 

  
Louis

Louis was amused.

It was always amusing when Zayn was confused.

Louis knew that when he came into the store late, Zayn would be ready to take the piss. But, when Louis opened the door a little wider to let Harry in after him, he could see the words dying on Zayn's lips.

"Morning, Zayn. Sorry, I'm late," Louis said. "You remember Harry?"

Zayn nodded. "Uh, yeah. Harry, neighbor with a cat."

"Friend. The friend with the cat," Harry said, nudging Louis with a sharp elbow.

Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Friend. Of course."

Louis cleared his throat. "Harry wanted to come see the shop. Can you believe he's never been?"

Harry was already walking around the shop, gazing at the shelves of books.

"Cookbooks are over there," Zayn said, helpfully.

"Cool," Harry said and disappeared into the shelves Zayn directed him to.

Once Harry was out of sight, Zayn whipped around to fix Louis with sharp eyes.

"Friend?"

Louis shrugged "Friend."

"A friend who walks you to work?"

Louis dug into his bag and took out the pack of cupcakes. "And bakes cupcakes for book shop partners."

Zayn frowned. "Really now." He then reached out to grab the cupcakes out of Louis' hands.   
"Oh, give me that."

"Why are you so pressed, Zaynie? This was your idea. You said, be friends. So, I went over to his place last night for dinner. And cupcakes."

Zayn narrowed his eyes. "And?"

"And friendship, Zayn!" Louis said, emphatically.

Zayn's prickly mood dissolved into laughter. "When he leaves, you are telling me more."

Harry ambled over, all long legs and brown curls, a book tucked under his arm. "Good selection." He placed the book on the counter and dug into his pocket for his wallet. He noticed the cupcakes in Zayn's hands and his face broke into a wide smile.

"You got the cupcakes! I hope you like them! They're banana. They're not iced though," Harry said, biting his lip. "But next time, I promise."

"Next time," Zayn said pointing at Harry. "I will hold you to that."

Zayn rang up Harry's purchase, wrapped up the book and handed it to Harry.

"Thanks, mate!" Harry then turned to Louis, who was perched on a stool next to the cash register. "Later?"

Louis nodded and reached out to tug at the end of the scarf tied around Harry's hair, which made Harry blush. "Definitely."

When the door shut behind Harry, Zayn turned to Louis with his hands on his hips.

"Explain yourself, Tomlinson."

The story was simple. He had gone over with his last-ditch effort gift, but Harry had already been preparing to go over to Louis' place himself.

"Apparently to ply me with banana cupcakes so that I would agree to helping him out with his cat. Harry seems to be convinced that Zoe and Tiger are in love." Louis chuckled. "Can you believe it?"

Zayn rubbed his cheek and looked down at his feet before meeting Louis' eyes. "Actually, Liam mentioned that too."

Louis shot Zayn a look. "Hmph. Seems like you've got more to tell than I do."

Zayn laughed. "We had dinner last night. To talk about Captain…”  
Louis made a face. “Of course. That’s all it was, I’m sure.”

Zayn stuck his tongue out at Louis. “The two of you came up." Zayn paused, his brow furrowed. "Well. More like, Tiger and Zoe came up."

"What did he say, exactly?" Louis said, leaning his elbows on the counter, curious.

Zayn ducked his head into his shoulder, trying--and failing--to hide the smile on his face.

"Liam...he's a bit of a romantic, see. Liam thinks animals have feelings too. So maybe Tiger and Zoe missed each other. Like...maybe they love each other. Or something."

Louis beamed. "You're inviting me to your wedding, right?"

Zayn's head snapped up. "What?!"

"You and Liam Payne? You're getting married, I'm sure of it. The two of you with your four dogs and long, romantic walks and whatnot. It's meant to be, I know it is."

"Whatever. Don't be an idiot."

But the smile on Zayn's face belied his words. On any other day, Louis would have pointed out how, clearly, Zayn was the idiot. But today, Louis was content to simply let Zayn be.

Today, Louis was content.

Because Harry had walked him to work. And they would see each other tonight in Louis' apartment, cats and all.

And he hadn't been lying to Zayn about what was going on between him and Harry. There was definitely friendship.

But it was also more.

Or, rather, it was the promise of more.

For once, Louis was willing to take his time.

He didn't want to rush Harry into anything. And Louis didn't want to rush himself into anything either. Certainly not when this slow fall into friendship already had him feeling giddy and hopeful. Not one when something as simple as a smile and banana cupcake made Louis' world seem bright with possibility.

Louis had waited a long time for something to feel this right.

He was willing to wait a little longer.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to dinner at Louis’ flat. They discuss Liam’s theory that pets have emotions. And entertain the possibility that there might be something more between them too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second to the last chapter.I hope you guys will be satisfied with the end.  
> Like I said, there are drabbles in the works for this particular set of characters. So you won’t need to say good bye to them forever. I hope you’ll stick around! It’s been so fun reading your reactions and thank you to everyone who left kudos. I hope this has been as fun for you as it has been for me writing it. :)

Harry

Harry was amused.

It was amusing, getting to know someone, their little quirks and idiosyncrasies. But just being around Louis himself was amusing.

Take, for instance, now. Louis had insisted on preparing dinner, since Harry had already said he would bring dessert.

"I've only ever cooked for Zayn before," Louis said, banging around in the little kitchen, talking loud so Harry could hear from the sofa. "I have to admit, I'm a little nervous cooking for a chef."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "I'm a pastry chef. I don't know much about cooking, like food, food.  So relax. I'm sure it will be delicious."

Louis stuck his head out to shoot Harry a look. "You're gonna jinx me, I know it."

"Fine. It will be horrible. And I'll eat it anyway and tell you it's delicious," Harry deadpanned.

Louis beamed at him. "I foresee great things for our future. I hope you're a good liar."

Harry grinned. Louis ducked back into the kitchen and Harry turned his attention to the cats. Tiger and Zoe were stretched out on the rug, playing with an array of cat toys that Louis had set out. Harry got up and began walking around the small room, appreciating how Louis had decorated his flat. Framed family pictures were scattered on most of the surfaces: the coffee table, the shelf (which was packed with books), the piano top. There were also pictures of Louis and Zayn in front of their shop, arms around each other's shoulders, smiling proudly into the camera.

"Remember that day like it was yesterday," Louis said.

Harry turned to find Louis leaning against the wall, watching him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to like...pry."

"It's not prying. They're out there in plain sight aren't they?"

Harry nodded and put the picture down.

"How did you meet Zayn?"

"Went to school together. Had a lot of the same classes together. Then we realized we were borrowing the same books from the library." Louis chuckled. "We were like a book club of two."

An image of Louis at university popped into Harry's head and he was overcome by how much he suddenly wished he had been there, had known Louis when he was still a student, to have been around when he was discovering what he wanted to do, who he wanted to be.

Harry wanted to know Louis.

"Tell me more?"

The light behind Louis' eyes was almost too much to bear when he turned them to Harry.  It just wasn't fair for someone to have eyes like that, Harry thought.

Louis nodded. "Tell you over dinner?" He tilted his head in the direction of the table he'd set for them, his mouth curving into a smile.

Over dinner, they'd learned more about each other. Louis learned how Harry had learned to bake (his nan had taught him) and how he'd discovered how much he liked it (worked at bakery, initially just for the money, but..."I was a great baker.") Harry learned about Louis' love for all things football and his favorite team ("The Donny Rovers, of course!"). They did not have the same taste in music but agreed to disagree. This did not stop Harry from offering to make a Spotify playlist for Louis though.

Over dessert, Louis learned that Harry had once taken ballet classes, but had since shifted to doing yoga, because he had a bad back. Harry learned that Louis loved tea above any other beverage in the world and that indeed, there was a right way and a wrong way to make tea. Louis learned that Harry was a budding photographer, which led to them taking their phones out to follow each other on Instagram (Louis had scoffed at the fact that all Harry's photos were black and white and Harry had mocked Louis' penchant for selfies. "'S a bad habit, I know. It's Zayn's fault really.")

By the time the cats were finally tired out from playing and were simply curled into balls on the rug, they had moved to the couch. Because Harry's long legs took up too much space, Louis had propped his own legs on top of them, and it could have been awkward, except it really, really wasn't. And when impulse spurred Harry to wrap his hand around Louis' ankle, Harry hadn't expected to be relieved that Louis hadn't pulled away.

This also should not have made Harry feel possessive in any way.

Except that it really, really did.

"Harry?"

"Yes, Lou?"

Louis smiled at Harry's soft, lazy drawl.

"Zayn told me that Liam didn't laugh at your theory. About Zoe and Tiger being in love."

A slow smile grew on Harry's face and he nodded.

"He said he thinks animals might feel the same thing as we do," Louis continued.

Harry's heartbeat stuttered in his chest.

_ We? _

Louis nudged Harry in the ribs gently with his foot.

"Sorry, I meant, the same things  _ people _ do. Like love."

Harry gazed steadily into Louis' blue eyes and what he saw in them was so impossibly lovely that Harry couldn't even feel disappointed about the loss of the "we".

And it made Harry brave.

Harry cleared his throat.

"Lou?"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe Liam's right. Maybe they feel the same as...we do. As I do."

Louis' eyes softened at this. Then he sat up and curled his legs beneath him, and leaned toward Harry.

"You love...Tiger too?"

Harry threw his head back and laughed, then turned his gaze to Louis.

"Maybe. Or maybe, I'm just a little bit in love with all of this. Being here. Sharing our cats. Being with you."

There.

He said it. Harry put his heart on his sleeve and showed his hand. And for the first time in a long time, he wasn't afraid.

Louis reached a hand out to brush Harry's curls away from his face and pressed his forehead against Harry's.

"Harry?"

Harry felt his heart crack wide open at the sound of Louis' voice, so close.

"Lou?"

"Me too."   
  


Louis 

Louis was certain.

As certain as he had ever felt about anything in his life. Life was strange and you never really knew what was ever going to happen. 

  
Sometimes life was a mess, when no matter what you did, it just seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. 

  
And then, there were times, when you least expected it, when things just worked out.

So, Louis wasn’t quite sure why or how he had ended up with his feet in Harry’s lap or his hands in Harry’s curls, but he was certain that this was one of those moments.

  
And he didn’t know if he had done anything to deserve it, but he was just glad it was happening.

“Want to know something?” Louis said, pulling reluctantly away from his very comfortable position against Harry’s side.

“Mmm. What?”

“It’s an interesting story. ‘S about Liam…”   
  
“Another Liam story?” Harry grinned. “We’re talking a lot about Liam. If I weren’t of the opinion that there might be something going on between…” Harry tapped a finger on Louis chest and then on his own, “us, I would think you had a thing for our vet.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “While Liam is certainly a very, very fit example of a human being and certainly he is probably the most romantic vet I have ever met...he is, quite definitively, not my type.”

Harry bit his lip and grinned when Louis continued, “And also, I too am of the opinion that there might be something going on here, between us,” he mimicked Harry’s motion, lightly tapping a finger on to first Harry’s chest and then his.

“Anyway, if you’d be so kind as to let me continue…” Louis said, “this is not about us. Even though, I would really love to talk about us,” Louis said, cheekily, tangling his fingers with Harry’s. “It’s about Liam. Kind of. Well, it’s also about Zayn. Well, actually, I think it’s more about Zayn really…”

Harry shut his eyes and held his hands up to stop Louis. 

“You’ve only succeeded in confusing me.”

“Well, you know how Liam has that big, funny dog in his clinic?”

  
Harry made a face. “I never really noticed.”

  
“Really? How could you not notice? He’s this big, shaggy thing? Anyway…Zayn saw him and it was love at first sight.”

“Love at first...so wait, let me get this straight. Zayn is in love with the dog? Or do you mean he’s in love with Liam?”

Louis considered this carefully. “I think it’s a little bit of both.” He chuckled, remembering the expression on Zayn’s face when he first saw Liam, but also the dopey fond look Zayn had when he was playing with Captain on the rug. Different kinds of love, sure, but love all the same. 

While Louis would have wanted to take credit for bringing Zayn along when he brought Tiger to Liam’s clinic. But, to perfectly honest, Captain was probably the real matchmaker.

Because if Liam had seen Zayn just out on the street, or in a coffee shop, or in a pub - he would probably have given him a second look.

Because, this was Zayn. He was gorgeous.

But, seeing Zayn on the floor of the clinic with this dog that nobody wanted? That apparently meant the world to Liam. For that alone, Liam would probably follow Zayn to the ends of the earth and back.

Little by little, Louis’ story came out. About how Zayn wanted to adopt Captain, about how they had arranged to see each other, to talk about making it official. 

“Official that Zayn adopts Captain? Not, official that maybe there’ll be something between Zayn and Liam?” Harry asked.

Louis shrugged. “I know Zayn adores the dog. But I saw the look on his face when Liam came out of his office. Zayn’s head-over-heels for him.”

  
Harry grinned. “That would be nice, huh? Liam is a sweetheart.”

“He is. And Zayn’s...well...Zayn’s my best mate.” Louis said, simply. “I’d love to see him happy. And if that means adopting a dog and dating our vet, I think that works out really well. For all of us.” 

Harry leaned closer to Louis and pressed his lips to his cheek, then murmured, “Which leaves just one question.”

Louis pulled away to look into Harry’s eyes.

“What?”

  
Harry flashed him an impish grin.    


  
“What do we do about Niall?”   
  
  
  
  
  



	11. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, we’ve come to the end. The kittens are born. And Harry and Louis realise family and home are wherever they both are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope people won’t be unhappy with this.   
> Stay tuned though, because I’ve got little bits and pieces of the story to fill in. 
> 
> Thanks to all who read. I hope you had as much fun reading as I did writing!

"Lou! Open up!"

The panicked tone in Harry's voice made Louis rush to the door. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry's headscarf was on askew and his forehead was furrowed in worry.

"I think it's time. Zoe's been pacing and she can't get comfy on her bed or on her cooling pad...she's meowing and....I think it's time. Could you call Liam?"

Louis snapped into action. "Ok, on it. Go try and get Zoe ready. And Harry," he tugged on Harry's hand and pulled him close, until they were chest to chest. Louis pressed his lips to Harry's and smiled against his mouth when he felt the tension drain from Harry's shoulders. Reluctantly, he pulled away, squeezed Harry's hand and looked into Harry's worried eyes. 

"Everything's going to be alright."

Harry ducked his head down to kiss Louis again. "Love you, Lou."

Louis watched Harry run back to his flat, long legs tangling in his rush to get to Zoe. Louis chuckled and turned back to his room to look for his phone. He pulled Liam's number up and dialled.

"Come on, Liam, answer" Louis said, suddenly nervous and pacing the floor himself.

"'Lo?" Liam sounded breathless. "Louis? What's up?"

"Liam, mate, Harry's asking if we can bring Zoe to you? It's time!"

"Oh!" Louis grinned at the excitement in Liam's voice. "Sure, sure...Umm. I'm not at the clinic right now, but I can be there in...thirty minutes?"

"That's fine, Liam. We'll meet you there."

"Errm. Zayn is asking if he can come too?"

_ Well, now. _

"Zayn, eh?" Louis chuckled. Zayn was so going to get an earful at the shop.

"Umm. Yeah," Liam breathed out a laugh. "But, never mind, because Zayn is saying he doesn't care what you answer, he's coming along. Just so you know."

"Zayn always was a tosser. Can't see how you tolerate him, really" Louis said, but it came out sounding extraordinarily fond. "See you. See you  _ both. _ "

Tiger came pacing into the room and Louis picked him up. "Ready to be a dad, then?"

Tiger meowed and butted his head against Louis' cheek.

Louis grinned.

He didn't know how this all ended up like this. Who could have guessed?

Zoe and Tiger.

Harry.

And apparently...Liam and Zayn. (But Louis had guessed that already.)

Even Niall had started going out with Liam's assistant. (Harry apparently fancied himself quite the matchmaker.)

Life was funny.

And Louis' life? Funny, yes, but also wonderful and so much more than he expected.

He put Tiger in a carrier, hefted his bag onto his shoulder and stepped out of his flat, where 

Harry was already waiting.

"This is it." Harry said, green eyes glinting.

Harry reached for his hand and Louis clasped it in his.

"Did you know that my first word was "cat"?" Harry said, as they walked to the bus stop.

Louis didn't have to be looking at Harry to know that Harry was smiling as he said this, the too-wide, dimpled smile with the puffed out cheeks. Just imagining how Harry looked when he smiled like this--happy, free and so impossibly young--was enough to take Louis' breath away. 

Seeing it full on in real life was simply too much.

"Was it really, Harry?"

Harry squeezed his hand. "That's what my mum and Gemma tell me. Cat. Isn't that funny?"

Louis pulled on Harry's hand to stop him, right there on the street, in front of all the other people milling around, and kissed him.

Harry's eyes were bright when he pulled away from Louis.

"What was that for?"

Louis shrugged.

"My first word was cat too. So I don’t care what Zayn says about cat people. I think we're romantic."

Harry tossed his head back and laughed and Louis wanted to kiss him for that too, but Zoe began to meow and they both started walking more quickly.

When they arrived at the clinic, Liam was already unlocking the door, Zayn holding on to Captain's leash. Liam took Zoe's carrier and brought her inside, Harry following close behind.

Zayn clapped Louis on the shoulder. "So Louis, are you ready to be a..." Zayn frowned. "If your cats are having kittens, what does that make you?"

Louis shot him a withering glance. "It makes me the owner. And don't think your clever questions are distracting me from the more important things at hand. Like," Louis put a hand on his hip, fluffed his fringe and raised an eyebrow at Zayn,  "what exactly were you doing at Liam's when I called him?"

Zayn raised an eyebrow. "He was actually at mine."

Louis let out a sharp laugh and he pushed Zayn into the clinic. "Get in there and tell me  everything."

Liam had disappeared into the little surgery with his assistant, Ellie, who had arrived shortly after them with Niall in tow.

"Harry, love, take a breath!" Louis reached out for Harry's hand to try and stop him from pacing.

Harry blew a breath out and let Louis pull him into the seat beside him.

"Why is it taking so long?" Harry said, biting his lip.

Zayn chuckled from his place on the floor beside Captain. "It hasn't been that long, Harry. Not really."

Niall snapped a photograph from his position at the doorway. "Awww. That's gonna come out great, Harry. Real emotion on your face in this one."

Louis grinned at Niall. "Stop teasing!"

The photographer held his hands up. "Okay, Okay!' Niall laughed.

Harry lifted Tiger off the floor, where he had been observing Captain with wary eyes, and onto his lap.

"I didn't think I'd be so nervous," Harry said.

Louis gave Harry's leg a reassuring pat. "Liam said there was nothing to worry about."

Suddenly, Harry's eyes went wide. "Oh my God, Louis, we haven't even discussed what we're going to do with four kittens."

"Keep them, obviously."

"Four kittens?! We can't keep four kittens!"

"Course we can!"

"Louis, no!"

Niall grinned and pointed from Harry to Louis. "Is this your first fight ever? Should I be documenting it?"

Zayn looked over at Niall with a tired expression on his face. "This isn't a fight, this is how they regularly talk to each other."

Niall cackled. "Entertaining."

"Not really," Zayn said, with a long-suffering sigh.

The door to the surgery opened a crack and Ellie slipped out. Niall stood up when she came into the waiting room, a smile on his face. She pulled her mask down, grinned at Niall and then turned to Harry and Louis.

"Liam says you can come in and see the kittens now."

Harry and Louis were standing already, hands clasped. They walked into the surgery where Liam was washing his hands. He turned and smiled, his eyes crinkling up.

"Lads! Zoe came through marvelously and the kittens are in good health. Go and take a look."

Harry stepped towards the bed. Zoe looked up at him and gave him a tired meow. There were four little shapes nestled against her belly, their eyes still closed, mouths opening and closing, hungrily.

"Two gingers, just like Tiger. A pastel calico, almost like Zoe. And a very handsome blue tortoiseshell," Liam said, standing behind him, bouncing a little in his excitement.

"They're so...tiny," Louis breathed, leaning into Harry.

"They're lovely," Harry whispered. "They're perfect."

"Maybe Niall and Ellie want a kitten," Louis said.

Harry squeezed Louis' hand. "No. No. We're keeping them,” he said firmly.

Louis looked at Harry incredulously. "Whatever happened to we can't keep four kittens?"

"I don't know, I don't know," Harry said, shaking his head. "I think we could do it. I think we should do it - "

"Together," Louis breathed.

"Together."

Harry wrapped his arms around Louis' waist and Louis looped his around Harry's neck. They stood there, for a moment then broke away laughing when Tiger came in and began winding himself around their feet.

_ Click. _

The flash of Niall's camera at the doorway caught them by surprise.

"Congratulations, lads!" Niall crowed. "Come on out, let's get a group shot with everyone in it!"

Harry picked Tiger up and tucked him into his arm as he stepped into the waiting lounge with Louis at his side. Zayn and Liam were leaning against Liam's desk, Zayn's arm around Liam’s waist, fingers tucked into Liam's belt loops, Liam's arm around Zayn's shoulder, Captain at their feet.

Ellie grinned. "Judging from your faces, I take it I've lost my chance at the torty, eh?"

Harry and Louis chuckled.

"I'll buy you a cat, Ellie!" Niall said, snapping a photo of her.

"Adopt don't shop!" Liam and Zayn said in chorus. "Well, we could use a cat at the bookshop, Louis, " Zayn said, wisely. "It would make the shop really cozy."

Louis shot him a look. "We already have Captain in the store every day. We're a bookshop not a petting zoo." But, if the smile on Louis face was anything to go by, he was already imagining how nice having a striped kitten curled on the cash register counter would be.

"We should go celebrate," Niall said, tucking his camera away and reaching for Ellie's hand.

"That is an excellent suggestion, Niall," Liam agreed. He pressed a quick kiss to Zayn's temple, took Captain's leash and stood. "Let's go! We can leave the cats here for a bit and we'll pass by for them on your way home," he said to Harry.

_ Home. _

Harry nodded at Liam and took Louis' hand, gently.

Louis didn't know what it meant yet. Neither did Harry.

They only knew that home, wherever it ended up being, was a flat full of cats, a good cuppa, something sweet baking in the oven, a curly haired boy with a smile full of dimples, and a perfect fringe over a pair of blue eyes.

 

They were home.

 


End file.
